I’ll be honest. I’ve been blasting Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer since November 1st. I can’t help myself. This time of year just makes everything so much better!

So when thinking of a few holiday recipes, I realized I don’t have a vegan red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting! Basically everyone’s favorite cake, I mean, come on now!

Plus, it’s such a wonderful cake that it’s not just for the holidays: have it for Valentine’s Day or a birthday, so it makes it a pretty fun year-round cake.

Of course, you might not put vegan gingerbread reindeer on top like I did, but hey, if you live in those northern areas, it could be pretty snowy all year round 😉

So I decided to unofficially name this cake Rudolph’s Red Velvet (just see my Instagram stories for that 😉 ). It’s light and fluffy, sweet with a slight tang, and layered between planes of vegan cream cheese frosting.

Plus this cake is naturally vegan, can be made gluten free, and certainly doesn’t taste like either.

You’d think it’s just your average amazing red velvet cake recipe 😉

What is red velvet cake?

Think of red velvet cake as the cake of all cakes. When I worked at Georgetown Cupcakes in college, it was by far the most ordered cupcake. Then came chocolate of course 😉

People just can’t get enough of that red velvet! Now, in a good red velvet, you’ll have a very smooth, velvety texture thanks to the acidity, and with a slight tang to the sweet, it’s easy to just keep eating it!

Then of course you can’t forget the cream cheese frosting! My favorite part 🙂 For our vegan red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting, the fluffy white frosting on top is completely dairy free.

And if you want to make it completely refined sugar free, there’s an option for that! Just please not that the color will definitely be more brown than white in the frosting, and the cake will look more purple than red.

What’s the difference between red velvet cake and chocolate cake?

Most people think that red velvet cake is basically just chocolate cake dyed red, but that’s not true! There’s only a smidgen of cacao powder in red velvet, whereas with chocolate cake, you’re talking a whole lotta chocolate. Like you better call Hershey kinda chocolate.

Just kidding.

But you catch my drift. This vegan red velvet cake is very different than my vegan chocolate cake, so rest assured, you’re getting an entirely different flavor profile between these two recipes!

What is the flavor of red velvet cake?

Believe it or not, I really don’t think that any red velvet cake recipe tastes chocolatey! There’s such a small amount, but it is necessary for that slight richness in my opinion.

But actually, red velvet gets its name from the vinegar creating that velvety texture in the cake. It’s truly unlike any other cake I’ve ever had. There’s a slight tang to it, but trust me, it’s not gross.

You’re going to fall in love with this cake!

How to make a vegan red velvet cake with cream cheese frosting

Making this healthier red velvet cake is seriously a breeze, and you can decorate it however you want! I’m going to walk you through the basic steps for getting your cake baked and frosted, then let yourself have fun with the decorations 🙂

The vegan red velvet cake

I know sometimes it’s intimidating if you’re making a vegan cake for the first time, but I promise, it’s actually so similar to making a regular cake! So don’t sweat it: just trust the process!

Alright, in order to make this vegan red velvet cake, you’ll need the following:

All purpose flour or gluten free flour

Coconut oil or vegan butter

Coconut milk or your favorite dairy free milk

Vinegar

Sugaror coconut sugar

Unsweetened applesauce

Baking soda

Cacao Powder

Beet powder or plant based food coloring

Not too bad right? Now let’s go over the steps really quickly:

Combine the flour, cacao powder, and baking soda in a large bowl and set aside.

In a medium bowl, beat together the melted coconut oil or vegan butter, coconut milk mixed with 1 tsp vinegar, sugar, and applesauce.

Pour the wet ingredients into the dry, and combine thoroughly. Then add in the extra tablespoon of vinegar and combine until well mixed.

Add in the beet powder or natural plant based food coloring (you can pick up the latter at Whole Foods, which is what I used for the cake in the photos).

Distribute the batter evenly among three 6″ cake pans and bake for 35 minutes.

Let cool before you frost.

That’s it! Not too far off from making a regular red velvet cake, right?

The vegan cream cheese frosting

Now, making a vegan cream cheese frosting is, like making a vegan cake, just as easy as its conventional counterpart. The only difference is that it’s completely dairy free!

So to make the vegan cream cheese frosting, you’ll need:

Vegan cream cheese (I recommend Miyoko’s or Trader Joe’s brand)

Vegan butter (again, recommend Miyoko’s but any vegan butter will do)

Powdered sugar

Vanilla extract

Next, you’ll want to make sure that the vegan cream cheese and the vegan butter are at room temperature, but still cool. This means that they’ll be slightly soft, enough for you to effortlessly dent a fingerprint into it, but still cool enough to work with without it melting.

Then, you’ll just make the frosting like you would a regular cream cheese frosting! Beat together the vegan cream cheese and butter until they’re whipped and fluffy.

Add in the powdered sugar in increments until it’s a fluffy frosting. Then finish with a little vanilla beaten into the frosting and there you have it!

Now you can frost your cake in layers! Make sure you level your cakes before beginning. I recommend using a frosting knife and scraper to get the cleanest look that will almost resemble fondant (but without the icky fondant taste!).

If you want to decorate with gingerbread cookies, feel free to! Or make your own decorations: tree brands, holly leaves, or even crumbled up extra cake layers after you’ve leveled them!

Tips & Tricks for making the best healthy red velvet cake:

Can red velvet be made without food coloring? Absolutely! It won’t have that red color to it, obviously, but the red coloring doesn’t add any flavor to it, so not to worry!

How to make this a gluten free red velvet cake: making this a gluten free red velvet cake is actually quite simple. I love using Bob’s Red Mill 1-to-1 gluten free flour or King Arthur’s 1-to-1 gluten free flour. Then it’s just an easy swap in!

How to make this a Paleo red velvet cake: and the really cool part about this cake is that you can make it Paleo too! Just swap in coconut sugar where you see regular sugar (for the powdered sugar, just pulse the coconut sugar a few times in the food processor to make a powder!). The color will be slightly browner, but it will taste amazing. As for the flour, I recommend using cassava flour- it’s a pretty 1-to-1 gluten free and grain free flour, which is pretty astounding.

Make sure to level the cakes before frosting! If you’re building this cake in multiple layers, make sure to level your layers before frosting! This means evening out that top section before you frost. I recommend using a sharp, thin knife (just be careful), then when you’re stacking your cake layers, fave the crumbed, sliced side down to make it easier to frost!

I hope you love making this vegan red velvet cake as much as I do! And I hope you enjoy eating it even more 😉 If you make this cake, let me know down below in the comments section!

As always, I love to see your beautiful creations, so be sure to tag me on Instagram and Pinterest!

IF YOU MAKE SOMETHING FROM THE BANANA DIARIES, I WOULD LOVE TO SEE YOUR CREATIONS! DON’T FORGET TO RATE THIS RECIPE AND LEAVE A COMMENT BELOW! ALSO, FOLLOW ALONG WITH ME ON INSTAGRAM, PINTEREST, YouTube, AND FACEBOOK FOR MORE RECIPE INSPIRATION AND A GLIMPSE INTO EVERYDAY LIFE!

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Hi there!

My name is Britt, and welcome to the Banana Diaries! Here you’ll find healthy plant based dessert recipes that are delicious and nutritious! Not to mention, always made with love. The Banana Diaries is the good vibe tribe, so if you’re into that, stick around!